Mary Shelley's novel, 'The Last Man' is a work which is slowly gaining the critical attention it richly deserves. Fans of 'Frankenstein' will be astounded at how much deeper Mary Shelley's indictment of 'masculine' visionary Romanticism, technology, and the faults of humanity go in 'The Last Man'. At the same time, the novel is fraught with problems and contradictions which give an already paranoid work a whirling sense of internal dementia.

The action of 'The Last Man' takes place between 2073 and 2100 AD. England is ripe for change as the last King of England abdicates his throne in response to public outcry for a more democratic form of government. Lionel Verney, a shepherd, is drawn out of a life of wildness and crime by Adrian, the former crown prince of England. The charismatic Lord Raymond enters the story as the lover of Lionel's sister, Perdita, and the newly-elected Lord Protector of England. Torn between his love of power and his affections for his wife and a persistent attachment to Evadne, a Greek woman, Raymond renounces his political position and flees to Greece. There, he leads a military campaign to establish Greek independence and bring about the end of the Turkish empire.

Then, the Plague takes over. The nondescript malady has wiped out the population of Constantinople just as Raymond conquers it, making his victory meaningless. Word of the plague's virulence comes in from Asia and America, and from the southern, eastern, and western corners of the world, the plague begins to encroach inward towards Europe and England. The remainder of the novel tracks Lionel and Adrian's attempts to save the human race from utter annihilation.

In 'The Last Man', Mary Shelley gives us a horrifying, desolate prophecy of the future, when religion, technology, and human effort are all exposed as meaningless. Although many might say that she also abandons the redemptive possibilities of art, I think that art provides the novel's only hope. Mary Shelley's dependence on art of every format is clear in the novel's influences - She has Lionel refer to literature, including the works of Daniel Defoe, Charles Brockden Brown, Ann Radcliffe, Homer, Shakespeare, and Jonathan Swift among others.

The novel is fraught with problems of gender and power relations. At any moment of emotional weakness, Lionel calls himself 'girlish' or 'womanly,' and the novel seems to privilege women who are selfless and submissive. On the other hand, as Morton Paley's introduction points out, the plague itself is consistently described as female, at one place referred to as 'The Queen of the World'. With regard to power relations, Lionel continually mentions that in the dying world of humanity, social distinctions have all been abandoned - and yet there are still references to his 'servant' or those of other people. The most problematic scene in the novel revolves around racial distinctions when Lionel encounters a dying black man in London.

There are a million things to talk about in 'The Last Man,' and a novel so rich for discussion deserves to be read by as many people as possible. This is a book I warmly recommend, so pick it up and discover that there is more to Mary Shelley than 'Frankenstein'.

The Last Man starts with a man telling the story of his life; how he was orphaned at an early age and had to go to work at the age of five(!) and grew up to become a juvenile delinquent with a probable career as a criminal. His life is utterly changed by an admirable young man who is simply kind to him. What you may be asking does this have to do with the title? Mary Shelley is being sneaky here. She pulls you completely into the narrator's life. You and he barely notice when someone mentions a plague in China. Here the comparison to the AIDS epidemic is all to apt. A plague is advancing. The end of the world is at hand and no one pays attention because it doesn't directly, personally affect their lives. Suddenly, the plague is everywhere and then, too late, the human race scrambles to find a way to survive. It's a very profound, very sad book, well-worth the effort.

Written in 1826, this is, as far as I know, the first novel to take up the subject of a deadly plague that threatens the survival of the human race. Potential readers need to be warned that the writing style takes an effort to get used to. There is nothing wrong with it. It's simply different from a different age, the age of the Bronte sisters and Jane Austen. It is well worth the effort.

True imagination and a wonderfully written tale of a tortured man. I thought Frankenstein was a powerfully depressing book of a man's loss of self, but Shelley tops herself with this gothic masterpiece (POOR VERNEY). Don't let Shelley's critics fool you. Give this book a try.

This book needed a lot more work before being published. Firstly, the character point of view used is so distant that it is impossible to get any emotional relationship with the characters. Even when they do something interesting, they don't seem to be acting out of any motivation than that the plot needs it.
The writing style is full of cliche.
There are too many mysteries about the main character that are mentioned, then forgetten, the answers to which you can't even guess at. The villians are boring, and heros just peole who are there.
When there is an attempt to create something truly fantastic, it is surrounded by boring charaters, and enshrouded in so much mystery that it just seems silly. All the powers of the staff are stupid, we're supposed to beleive here's this guy and he has the most powerful thing ever made, this thing can put the staff of Magius to shame, but the guy just has, given to him by his Shalafi. Throughout the book were told he's taught how to fight by his shalafi, given the staff by his Shalafi. It's not fantastic writing, just silly, not believable.

And the nonsense that he's Tanin's son. Instead of creating a charater that has an interesting points at all, the guy just claims to be Tanis's son, as if we should belive that (By his age we know that Tanis would have had to cheat on Laurana and I don't accept that) it's not said he's Tanis's son, the character claims it, but whether or not it's true has no impact on the story.
It's just so boring. Sol Stein who has written some amazing books on writing fiction says the job of the writer is to evoke emotion in the reader. At no part of the book is there any attempt to evoke any emotion. Perhaps we are supposed to get wrapped up in the action seens, but that are so contrived.
I only wrote this because I read the book after reading the other reviews. There are so many good books out there, read something written by an accomplished writer. I don't like saying bad things about writters, but Jeff Cook does not seem ready for novel writing, and this book remids me why I stoped reading every dragonlance book out there. Some of it's great, but the rest is just mass produced garbage that's made because TSR know if publish so many dragonlance books, they'll have so many sales.

I was almost tempted to give this book 2 stars but I only do that to really, really bad books.

Like the 1st book in the series, this book was too long word wise. Too many useless description, too little interesting plot movement. Unfortunately, this one didn't even had interesting characters like the 1st one.

There's little good to say about this book. There were a few good scenes but not good enough to make the book remotely readable. This series looked & sounded so intriguing I couldn't wait to read it. I'm very disappointed & feel cheated - a feeling I'm not used to when reading DL.

After about 180 pages, I just scanned the rest to get it over with.

This book just won the Darrell Award for best science fiction, fantasy, or horror for 2000.

To say it politely, approximately 90% of Dark Valley Destiny is pure, subjective opinion. In fact, this book is not a biography at all (regardless of the author's claims), but is a pseudo-Freudian interpretation of Robert E. Howard's psychological state or mental "life" based on assorted, incomplete, and (in some cases) erroneous facts. De Camp's credentials as a psychologist, or even an amateur psychologist, are not only in question, but non-existent. Dr. Jane Whittington Griffin, whose name is presented as co-author and whose association seems to lend the book an air of respectability and authority, in fact had little to do with the writing of this book due to her untimely death while the book was in the process of being researched and written. Further, Dr. Griffin's credentials as a legitimately licensed psychologist have recently come into question as well.

In his own autobiography, de Camp refers to this book as a "psycho biography," and elsewhere de Camp admits that he had tried to sell the idea of writing a biography on Robert E. Howard to the publisher who considered the subject too dry and suggested that instead de Camp should spice it up a bit by writing a psychological examination and evaluation of Howard's work and life. This de Camp did, and the result is the eminently sensationalistic and yellow-journalistic commentary known as Dark Valley Destiny.

To top it all off, we find that de Camp is not remotely sympathetic toward his subject matter, and he takes pains to use his own moral and intellectual values and positions to criticize and condemn Howard at every step, while at the same time offering appeasing praise. The reader ought to be warned that de Camp's writing style is quite skilled and is meant to be persuasive. Meaning, de Camp will pull the wool over your eyes with statements of "opinion as fact" and unsupported leaps of logic unless you carefully read the book with a detached, critical eye. As a book that presents itself as a factual and authoritative biography, it is a farce and all but worthless. If you read this book, read it with a HUGE grain of salt, and be skeptical.

Although Dark Valley Destiny is not a definitive biography (or even a good one), it is unfortunately the only book yet published which claims to be a biography of Robert E. Howard. The memoir ONE WHO WALKED ALONE, by one of Howard's girlfriends, Novalyne Price-Ellis, is far more reliable and informative, but even this must be read with the understanding that the writer is drawing conclusions based on her own views and biases, which were sometimes made without complete information. Mrs. Ellis, however, had the good fortune of actually knowing Robert E. Howard and the information in her book is first hand knowledge, unlike that in Dark Valley Destiny. It therefore carries much more weight.

The suggestion below that all is opinion and the truth shall never be known is, in part, true. As de Camp mentioned, but quickly ignored, posthumous biography is a somewhat foolish endeavor. There are many points about Howard's life which will simply never be known. Yet, to state that all is opinion and therefore equal is specious and misleading. There are conclusions and opinions which hold up to and are supported by the known facts, and then there are conclusions and opinions which are not. There are conclusions which adhere to standards of validity, and there are conclusions that do not. The task of scholars, and a definitive biography, is to achieve the highest level of factual reliability possible - not to present one's own views or opinions. Where a conclusion is uncertain, its uncertainty must be noted and alternatives offered and explored. In all this, Dark Valley Destiny fails miserably.

If you're interested in reading one author's distorted and biased OPINION of another author, then this book is for you. If, on the other hand, you want to read about the life of Robert E. Howard, look elsewhere. To start, I'd recommend the "Short Biography" of Howard on the REHupa web site, ... and then I'd recommend reading Howard's "Selected Letters" (which are unfortunately out of print but can be found in used book stores). For additional biographical sources on Howard, try The Barbarian Keep web page. ...

L. Sprague de Camp's biography of REH is a very credible (if admittedly somewhat opinionated) account. Frankly, I don't understand the nonsense that some reviewers spout about this book. It is plainly evident that de Camp conducted a good deal of research, being especially diligent to seek out and interview virtually everyone that had known REH. All in all, de Camp based his research on oral and literary sources as well as visiting and studying the places where REH had lived. The value of such was recognized long ago. One need only read Herodotus, Thucydides, or the greatest historian of antiquity, Polybius, to appreciate this. Ultimately, de camp's bio reaches tenable conclusions based upon his research.

At this point in time, a more definitive bio seems somewhat questionable. There are probably very (if any) acquaintances of REH still living. This of course doesn't mean that future bios cannot be written, only that they will find it incredibly difficult to obtain any new material. Very few can ever approach an understanding of REH as de Camp did. After all, he spent a large part of his career as a fiction writer in editing and expanding the Conan series. Instead, future biographers will be sifting among the stones that de Camp has already quarried for them.

Finally, while de Camp was not a professional pyschologist, that in itself does not necessarily disqualify him in analyzing REH's state of mind. The fallacy of expert opinion comes to mind here. Most biographers hold an area of expertise in only one or two fields, and often their subjects will carry them into sundry fields of exploration. That's one reason why professionals published their work, so that others can benefit from the fruits of their research. Geez, excuse my getting off track here a bit, but some people have the lamest, sorriest reasons for not enjoying de Camp's work and appreciating it for the fine work of scholarship that it is. (Accusing de Camp of writing articulate prose with the intention to deceive, as one reviewer suggested, only demonstrates that they are unfamiliar with his prose style.)

Is D.V.D. perfect and without the occassional error found in most bios? By no means, but de Camp isn't trying to hoodwink anyone, and anyone with any critical faculties can disagree with some of his conclusions. That in itself is a sign of scholarship as de Camp has provided enough material to allow the reader to independently verify whether or not s/he agrees.

DeCamp describes Howard in his "Dark Valley Destiny" book, and Novalyne Price describes him in her "One Who Walked Alone" book.

Both are probably right and probably wrong. Read both.

If you want to understand REH, read his writings (and those of his biographers) and make up your own mind.

His was a tortured soul.

I could defend or criticize Howard on many different levels. The truth is (and I hope you agree)is that we've all lost something because his potential had never been fully realized.

Now in its second edition "Awesome Game Creation" is a complete course in computer game creation. The first chapters cover the basics of graphics and sound creation, manipulation, and editing. This is followed by a somewhat nostalgic chapter on the history of game development and the various genres of games. Finally, the last of the foundational information is supplied in the chapter on game designing elements.

With that background firmly in mind, the authors take you on what is basically a visual tour of game development history. First you start out making simple two-dimensional games with simple graphics and move from there up to making three-dimensional games with advanced polygon graphics.

Some of the software supplied with the book are complete versions, some allow you to create a fully functional game but don't allow you to make a game you can distribute, and others are thirty-day demo versions of the software.

Besides basic image editors and sound editors, the supplied software includes game creation engines and commercial game editors. The game creation software includes Game Maker, Games Factory, Pie 3D Game Creation System, and 3D Gamemaker. Other software includes GMax to modify commercial games, MilkShape 3D polygon modeler, and Paint Shop Pro.

How awesome of a game can you create with the knowledge gained from this book? Well that is actually a function of the creativity of the game creator. Even with the best software you can't create a truly awesome game if you have limited creative ability. On the other hand, I have seen creative people make amazing games with far more simplistic software than this. This is a recommended book for anyone with more of a creative spirit than a knowledge of programming.

Being a newcomer to the game development industry, I found this book to be very informative. The elements of game design covered in the book are pretty straightfoward, and it gives the reader a good understanding of the basics of game design documents and so on.

The down side to this book is that it covers a lot of programs that you can't/won't use for making a commercial product, like GameMaker. These programs are good to learn to get an idea of how things work and link together, which is important knowledge for scripting a game, but little else can be acquired from learning them.

The other bad thing about this book is that even though this is the 2nd edition, not all the files on the CD match up with the files reffered to in the book. This is a bit of a letdown, as I was hoping to see a sample of a more involved game design document.

Ultimately, its a good starting point, but you'll need more books after this one for certain.

I'm just starting to learn game development and this is the 3rd book I have purchased. It's AWESOME!! The only book I have been able to use.

Perhaps I had expected too much. My wife is confined to a nursing home with a rare parkinson type disease and I was hoping this book might help.

Instead of helping, the knowledge from books read earlier made me notice the many errors in this book - caused, I believe, by trying to make the book more readable. It also made it less accurate.

There are few miracles - PS is not one of them. If it were it would be in universal use.

A much better book, in my estimation, is "Mind Boosters" by Ray Sahelian, M.D.

This book is packed with information about memory loss. I feel so much better now that I know how to reverse my memory loss.

This book is a good read. It lists many ways for people to improve their memory, and it discusses the impact that nutrition, health supplements and mental exercises have on our memory. The writers use language that is easily understood, even if you aren't a doctor.

When Sonny Mancuso was summoned to her ailing father's side, she jumped at the chance to leave Boston. The youngest and most exasperating of six girls, Sonny had been sent to her aunt in the hopes she would receive polish her father had not been able to provide. But all Sonny ever wanted was to be needed by her father. Now was her chance to prove she could be as good as, if not better, than the son her father never had. The Rocking M would not only survive the current threat it faced, but under her care it would thrive.

When he was fifteen, Sonny's father had rescued Lance Harmon from the slums of New York. Lance fell in love with the land and learned enough to become Vince's top man. But the land was not the only thing Lance fell in love with. Sonny brought light into his life from the very beginning, and the fire burned stronger after her return from the East.

Sonny sees Lance as a threat to her position at the ranch, fearing her father sees Lance as the son he'd craved. Nevertheless, her attraction to the handsome foreman is strong. Lance resolves to hide his feelings for Sonny, not wanting to bring pain to her, as all men had to his mother. He will not ever do that to a woman.

Ms. Crooks gives readers a nice read in her debut novel. While the theme of the story is familiar, she infuses it with an original style full of western flavor and vivid characters. A talent to be watched!

Pam Crooks is a bright new star making her debut into the world of romance with this endearing story of two hearts searching for love.

Sonnie Mancuso returns to her father's Wyoming ranch after learning her father has fallen ill. After years of attending school in Boston and studying animal husbandry, Sunnie is prepared to take over the ranch, but she is unprepared to find that someone else has already fulfilled that position: Lance Harmon, a ranch hand that had grown up on the Rocking M.

Lance had always watched and dreamed of the beautiful Sonnie Mancuso from afar. Sensing her need for her father's love, Lance could identify with wanting a love that always seemed elusive. Orphaned at a young age, Lance was brought to Wyoming by Sonnie's father, Vince Mancuso and given a job on the ranch. He grew up learning everything about the Rocking M and harboring a secret love for the youngest Mancuso daughter.

Now Sonnie is back just when there is trouble at the ranch. Danger and threats are coming from every direction. Slowly, Sonnie realizes that Lance is the one she can trust and depend on. After a soulful kiss, a yearning of her own spreads like wildfire. Together Sonnie and Lance would face the danger and fight for their beloved ranch.

Pam Crooks has captured the essence of the western romance with true to life situations and laces the love story with just enough spice and building passion. Pam Crooks will surely have her place among the historical romance writers.

Wyoming Wildflower has a wonderful blend of all the things that make a romance novel what it is: vivid imagery, historic detail, and of course, steamy scenes. The relationship between Sonnie and Lance keeps the reader's heart racing. Be sure to keep an eye out for Ms. Crooks!

Malcolm Crook, author of the very interesting Elections in the French Revolution (1996), has produced a short study of Brumaire. Those already well familiar with Brumaire and the events leading up to it will probably not learn very much new reading this book. Those who would like an overview of the advent of Napoleon, as well as a précis of current historical thinking on Brumaire and the Directory will benefit from Crook's work.

This volume is obviously intended for use by university students. It opens with a brief factual recounting of the events of the coup and an examination of the varying interpretations of that event, including the Bonapartist legend, the Republican tradition, the Marxist interpretation and an overview of current perspectives. This is followed by a concise history of the Directory, a lengthier exposition on Brumaire itself and a short history of the progress from Brumaire to Consulate to Empire. 40 pages of 'Illustrative Documents' that include extracts from representative historians, proclamations, memoirs, laws, letters and other documents allow the reader to get a feel for the tenor of the times and perhaps form his own opinions of these events. These documents are all keyed to appropriate sections of the main text. Also included is a glossary of terms and a useful eight-page bibliographical essay. There are no footnotes and, at times, quotes in the text are inadequately identified. The volume is indexed.

The "meat" of Crook's book, of course, is Brumaire itself. Crook manages to produce a largely dispassionate and factual account of the coup. Naturally, a book entitled Napoleon Comes to Power is going to focus primarily on Napoleon's role in the events, but this to an extent de-emphasizes the fact that this was a conspiracy undertaken by a number of individuals who had varying interests and ambitions. Nor could Bonaparte have accomplished the change of regime single-handedly. By focusing primarily on Bonaparte the reader doesn't truly get a good feel for how a conspiracy of these diverse opponents of the Directory became Bonaparte's bid to "come to power." This is presented as the natural outcome of the coup yet one doesn't really get to know why this became so -how Bonaparte went from one element of a broader conspiracy (and a late-comer, at that) to the primary beneficiary of that conspiracy. Although Crook doesn't mention it, perhaps Bonaparte's fellow-conspirators let him take the leading role so that if the coup failed Bonaparte would be the leading fall-guy (Crook fails to emphasize the risk the conspirators were taking in the event of failure; success was not assured). Then again, perhaps it was Bonaparte's personality as a man-of-action that led him to eventually take the leading role. Or that perhaps it was the public, identifying the coup as Bonaparte's, that thrust him so firmly into the leading position.

Crook, following current trends, downplays the threat to Bonaparte in the Council of Five Hundred, referring to Bonaparte being "jostled." D.J. Goodspeed in Bayonets at St. Cloud (London: Rupert Hart-Davis, 1965, p. 147) says that several of the deputies rushed him and that the burly deputy Destrem caught Bonaparte by the collar and shook him, pushing him "to and fro." Nor does Crook mention the fistfights on the floor of the Council or the cries of "Vive Bonaparte!" from the public in the gallery. Not attempting to write a narrative history, Crook downplays the drama of the event. Crook takes no stand on the controversy over Bonaparte's fainting spell in the Orangery, whether from nervous exhaustion or from fear or some other cause. Crook also fails to make clear that the grenadiers, who cleared the Orangery and sent the toga-clad deputies scrambling from the windows, were not from the regular army but were actually Grenadiers of the Legislative Guard. These men owed their loyalty not to Bonaparte but to the Councils. They had no real self-interest in supporting a coup. This is why these troops had to be convinced, one way or another, to forget their duties as the guardians of the assemblies (Sièyes believed at one point that the grenadiers were about to seize Bonaparte).

Crook has produced a balanced treatment of the rise of Napoleon. Napoleon Comes to Power presents a clear and concise overview of the Directory and of the coup itself. The lengthy section of documents translated by Crook gives the reader a real feel for the times and affords one the opportunity think for one's self. The modest price of this volume is also a plus. A Napoleon buff who wants a good summary of the events of Brumaire or a relative newcomer who is just starting to discover the era would both profit from purchasing this little volume. As Goodspeed's Bayonets at St. Cloud is out of print and Albert Vandal's L'Avenement de Bonaparte is unavailable in English Crook's is the best book available on Napoleon's coming to power.

Crook, author of the excellent Elections of the French Revolution, presents a short, concise look at Napoleon's coming to power in 1799. Although Crook explains how the coup was organized, exactly how Napoleon, who was a late-comer to the conspiracy, managed to wind up with all the power remains something of a mystery. The book includes as a "bonus" a lengthy section of translated documents to let you study the events first hand.

Well, if this is the only textbook available to you, that will be the only justifiable reason for ever buying it. The successful conveyance of knowledge is as much dependant on accurate and thorough coverage of its topics as the style of writing. Dr Caroline would do well as a kindergarten teacher. The entire text is written from the perspective of superior (highly at that) to subordinate (lowly and tehn some). I now hold a tertiary degree in emergency medicine and left the preschool grade some years ago. Pre-hospital emergency medicine has come a LONG way in the last 10 years, to the extent that paramedics are capable of bringing an exceptionaly high level of care to the patient with minutes of the emergency arising, and stabilising them for transport (again at an exceptional level of care). Doctors are prepared to delegate pre hospital care to "lesser trained" individuals when the highest level of care and insight is arguably most required within the "golden hour". If this book's text was written in a manner befitting the career, we might find a greater interest in the career path on an international level, and a a greater esteem for the men and women who put their lives on the line in hazardous situations and capably manage major incidents on a daily basis. We are no longer the "first aiders" of yesterlear who only knew to toss a patient on a collapsible stretcher and rush to hospital. We are professionals, trained to make critical decisions under adverse circumstances and extreme pressures. If the "attitude" of this text was revised, this book might finaly find its place as a useful training document.

Dr. Nancy Caroline really put some thought into writing this book. It is an extrememly well-organized text and arguably the most thorough review of paramedic skills available anywhere. Her writing style makes the reader feel like they're being told how things really are on the streets. Dr. Caroline REALLY UNDERSTANDS how cirsumstances can differ from in-hospital care. This book covers many advanced topics not found in other "dumbed down" (read: new curriculum) EMS textbooks. It also doesn't read like a comic book, like one of the new EMT-Basic texts. This book is for the serious student of pre-hospital care who wants to be one step ahead of the rest.

Don't get me wrong, this book was worth reading but there were a few things that bugged me in it. First of all the Gully Dwarves were in a full half of this book and after awhile the jokes about the number two got old and annoying. And then there were the fight scenes; they really weren't there. When I picked up this book I expected to have some really big battles play out in front of me, but that's not how it worked out. Crook used past tense on the battles so you really didn't get to read about any huge action scenes, just a small fight here or there.

There are pluses to this book however. The Dark Elf Knight of Takhisis Valian Escu was an interesting character and I personally would like to see a Dragonlance book that focuses only on him and his life after the Rose and the Skull. And also it was nice to see some of Pyrothraxus the Great Red Dragon of Mt. Nevermind.

I was very impressed by this book since I have yet to find a fifth age one worth reading. The characters were very vibrant and well written I was especially pleased with the character of Valian Escu. The plot was well chosen and answered a question that many of us fans have been waiting to hear. I would highly recommend this book to any Dragonlance fan, especially those wanting to read about new characters.

I'm new to the entire fantasy Dragonlance series but after accidentally stumbling across Jeff Crook's, The Rose and the Skull, it appears I have some reading to do. Of course, I didn't get all the past references and probably missed half of the inside jokes but hey, you gotta start somewhere.

Crook captured me with his sly humor and tongue-in-cheek descriptions but then was quite the craftsman with the plot and character developments. Lady Jessica was a worthy heroine and I would like to see a book with her and Liam. Not much romance but still, a brooding tension that bordered on romance. Sometimes, less is better anyway. I loved the Gully Dwarves, especially Uhoh, but, what do I know? It seems other reviewers hated that plot line but it appeals to the underdog in me, always a chance.

At any rate, I'm looking forward to reading more in the Dragonlance series, both past and future. Especially ones by Mr.Crook.

The title is promising and the concept is good for some laughs as we struggle to comprehend the mind of the not-so-crafty criminal. However, the same story with different variations repeated 100 times is about 84 times too many. Probably younger kids will have the unique attention span to find all of these funny but juveniles and older will find reading the whole book a bore. The writing style is also QUITE elementary. However, if you just want to veg out and not use any brain matter, this is perfect uninvolved reading for a lazy afternoon with Cheez-its (not necessarily a brand recommendation) and T.V.

This is a group of stories that was put together by officers from around the country sharing some of the more bizarre experiences they have encountered in their careers. This is not about glorifying criminal behavior, it is just meant to highlight human nature at its lowest point when common sense is totally missing.

It is fair to say that common sense is not something a criminal should have by definition, but this book proves that any semblance of judgment is often missing. There are several hundred examples, some of which are a riot to read, and many that seemed forced. Some of the tales seem familiar from other stories I have read centering on The Darwin Awards.

To give you an idea of these geniuses here are a couple of examples. One person serving a 90-day sentence attempted to escape on day 89, the result an additional 18 months added to his time. A man suspected of stealing from vending machines paid his $400 bail, all in quarters. And one stunt was not even a criminal at the outset. A woman decided to alter her lottery ticket so she would win $20. The rub was that if she had left the ticket alone she not only would have avoided jail, but her original numbers had already won her $5,000!

The Police have extremely tough jobs, its nice to know that they do get an occasional laugh from their jobs.

Any reader who says these tales are exaggerated or just war stories, obviously has never worked as a police officer.

There are a lot of dumb crooks out there, so many and so dumb that officers can't always feel proud of their easy arrests. What's amazing is that some of these dummies have survived in this world as long as they have.

While you will laugh out loud at the stories in this book, know that there are thousands of other dumb acts by criminals that could have been included and thousands more that have occurred since this book was written.

And while you laugh, keep the sobering thought in mind that many of these dumb crooks are dangerous.